Virtual Boy Complete - Game #15
Space Squash is a great idea with great execution. Essentially a take on the classic Pong formula starring flying robots, from a back view with 4 directions. It is a twin stick game, and you use the opposite stick to lob the ball in the direction you want. This control scheme works very well and feels quite fun! The idea somewhat evoked Windjammers in my mind, an unconventional throw-and-catch game.
There are 2 ways to win a set here - either lob the ball into space once, or ram your foe with the ball without them hitting to deplete their HP. HP depletion is rare and feels more like a way of preventing excessively long games, which is appreciated. There's a large window to lob the ball before it drifts off, so it never really feels too unfair. The courts are quite unique, the first has bumpers and the second has balloons that move around, both of these will reflect the ball back to you, and are unintrusive but still vary the game.
The character designs here, at least from what I played, are quite cool - I'm missing context because I didn't get the English patch, but you play as a little bird fella, and the first opponent (after a clone of yourself for practice) is an elephant. The bird is very expressive and his faces are funny.
I think the 2 biggest problems with this game are both Virtual Boy problems, not Space Squash problems - no multiplayer, and the occasional depth problem. I have a feeling that, like Red Alarm, this game is probably borderline unplayable without 3D.
I'll certainly be coming back to Space Squash and Red Alarm some day, and in the case of Space Squash I do want to play it with the ENG localisation patch (supposedly there's some options and mechanics I'm missing). There's a very stark contrast between this game and Nintendo's own home-made Mario's Tennis - in fact, in general Nintendo's first party output here has been uncharacteristically underambitious, but that's a story for another day, maybe the Waterworld review where I'm probably going to retrospect on the console as a whole. Perhaps Teleroboxer will prove me wrong.
Space Squash is a great idea with great execution. Essentially a take on the classic Pong formula starring flying robots, from a back view with 4 directions. It is a twin stick game, and you use the opposite stick to lob the ball in the direction you want. This control scheme works very well and feels quite fun! The idea somewhat evoked Windjammers in my mind, an unconventional throw-and-catch game.
There are 2 ways to win a set here - either lob the ball into space once, or ram your foe with the ball without them hitting to deplete their HP. HP depletion is rare and feels more like a way of preventing excessively long games, which is appreciated. There's a large window to lob the ball before it drifts off, so it never really feels too unfair. The courts are quite unique, the first has bumpers and the second has balloons that move around, both of these will reflect the ball back to you, and are unintrusive but still vary the game.
The character designs here, at least from what I played, are quite cool - I'm missing context because I didn't get the English patch, but you play as a little bird fella, and the first opponent (after a clone of yourself for practice) is an elephant. The bird is very expressive and his faces are funny.
I think the 2 biggest problems with this game are both Virtual Boy problems, not Space Squash problems - no multiplayer, and the occasional depth problem. I have a feeling that, like Red Alarm, this game is probably borderline unplayable without 3D.
I'll certainly be coming back to Space Squash and Red Alarm some day, and in the case of Space Squash I do want to play it with the ENG localisation patch (supposedly there's some options and mechanics I'm missing). There's a very stark contrast between this game and Nintendo's own home-made Mario's Tennis - in fact, in general Nintendo's first party output here has been uncharacteristically underambitious, but that's a story for another day, maybe the Waterworld review where I'm probably going to retrospect on the console as a whole. Perhaps Teleroboxer will prove me wrong.